Titans defense ahead early in pads

NASHVILLE — For the Tennessee Titans, the first day in pads wound up being better for the defense than it was the offense.

The offense had at least four penalties on the day, including two on consecutive plays during a red-zone period.

“A lot of mistakes — rookies. We had some drops. More offensively than defensively,” Titans coach Mike Mularkey said. “I’ve been really pleased with our defense the last three days. We’ve got three good days of work in, we’ve gotten better every day.

“Offensively, we struggled a little bit early. Really, not until the last period did we have a good practice when things looked clean. Again, some of that’s the norm when you get the pads on and you’re in this environment as a rookie.”

Mularkey praised the group’s communication throughout the first three days, saying that it extends to all levels of the defense.

“The communication is outstanding. We’re doing a lot, we’re in a lot of places — we’ve got a lot of people in different places and we’ve got a lot of new guys in different places. I think the communication has been great, you can see the value of the offseason workout — what it does for you,” he said.

The defense’s superiority on day one was given an exclamation point when Da’Norris Searcy had a red-zone interception of Marcus Mariota, certainly a rarity for the Titans’ QB.

According to Mularkey, the celebration of Searcy’s pick was not its rareness, but instead the result of a contest that allows the defense to end meetings 30 minutes early Monday night.

Ups and downs: After an impressive first day Sunday, Corey Davis’ second day had some inconsistencies, according to Mularkey.

“Probably not as good as yesterday,” the coach said when asked about the first-round pick’s play Monday. “As I was walking over here I talked to him. I asked him to give me a number from one to 10. It was better yesterday than it was today. I like that he’s hard on himself, that’s a good sign.”

After Sunday’s workout, Davis admitted to one goal: To be in the Week 1 starting lineup when the Titans face the Oakland Raiders at Nissan Stadium.

“I do (expect to start),” said Davis, who did run with the first team along with Rishard Matthews for most of his first practice. “I’m going to stay healthy, go out there and handle my business. I don’t expect anything to be handed to me, so I’ve got to go out there and earn it. But that’s my expectation — to go out there and be a starter.”

Davis didn’t get his rookie contract finished in time for Saturday’s first camp practices, but completed his rookie deal shortly after practice began, ensuring that he would not miss much in the way of valuable reps in preparation for his rookie season.

“I felt confident. CAA — my agency — is the best. I believe in them, that’s why I went with them and I have 100 percent confidence in them and what they do,” Davis said. “So I just trusted them the whole time. My job is to play ball, and their job is to handle all of that stuff. I wasn’t worried.”

Titans coach Mike Mularkey was glad to see Davis in uniform and taking part in practice and said the fifth overall pick in this year’s draft had a solid first day.

“He had a good day. Obviously, he’s been preparing,” Mularkey said. “Like I said a couple of days ago, they’ve been throwing for a couple of weeks before camp started. It’s obvious, you can see they’ve thrown some of these routes. They came out here and really I didn’t see a lot of mistakes, and that may change when I watch the film, but he had a good day.”

Davis said he still plenty to learn in camp, but he drew plenty of applause when he beat free agent cornerback Logan Ryan on a deep route early in one-on-one drills, hauling in a pass from Marcus Mariota.

“I have a lot to learn from and a long way to go but overall it was a good day,” Davis said of his initial camp practice.

Cassel limited: The Titans are limiting the number of throws veteran backup Matt Cassel is getting behind Mariota in camp. Cassel is still coming back from a thumb injury that required surgery during OTA (organized team activities) work, giving Alex Tanney lots of extra work in camp.

“We’re doing a lot out here with him, and when we get in preseason, he’ll have his opportunities,” Mularkey said of Tanney.

Trickery for Taylor: The Titans other rookie wide receiver, Taywan Taylor, got some work on some misdirection plays during practice, showing his speed and ability to run with the football. Taylor, from Western Kentucky, also had another nice deep ball catch.

“I think he’s got some ability to make plays and be an explosive player, I think we have a number of those guys. Again, Taylor had a couple plays that we designed today for him,” Mularkey said.

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